Upon hearing this, Yin Feng's tense expression relaxed a little.
The two didn't talk much, but Yu An held Yin Feng, the squad leader, in high regard. Their conversation was primarily question-and-answer.
Yin Feng was a man of few words to begin with, and he soon got stuck in a daze during the conversation.
It wasn't until he mentioned Xie Chiyuan that Yu An spoke more: "Xie Chiyuan looks fierce and cold, but he's actually a very nice person."
"I feel like a lot of people are afraid of him, but he's really not scary."
Yu An listed Xie Chiyuan's good points, and of course, didn't forget to secretly add Xie Chiyuan's bad points in her mind—
He's arrogant and cocky.
She always messes up his hair and occasionally teases him with vulgar jokes!
Yu An didn't voice these complaints.
When Yin Feng saw the way Xie Chiyuan's eyes lit up instantly when he mentioned Xie Chiyuan, he felt a sense of unease for some reason.
"Yu An, do you like Instructor Xie?"
Yu An was stunned by the question. He subconsciously shook his head, but when he met Yin Feng's probing gaze, the words "I don't like it" seemed to get stuck in his throat and he couldn't squeeze them out.
Yin Feng stared straight at him.
A few steps away, Xie Chiyuan, who had come looking for someone, also stopped.
He didn't go forward, but leaned against the wooden pillar and listened to their conversation.
Those few seconds seemed to stretch out infinitely.
Yin Feng was still asking for an answer: "Yu An, what are your feelings for Instructor Xie?"
Chapter 52
Yu An knew that many people misunderstood that she was pursuing Xie Chiyuan, her teammates with Pei Si, and even called him "little sister-in-law".
"I...I have feelings for Xie Chiyuan," Yu An stammered, trying to find the right words. "My feelings for him are hard to describe."
This ambiguous answer surprised both Yin Feng and Xie Chiyuan, who was behind the wooden pillar.
Yu An didn't want to lie, but if he told the truth, Yin Feng would probably arrest him on the spot.
After all, he liked Xie Chiyuan, just like some people like to gnaw on a big pork knuckle; it's a deep and unwavering liking for grain reserves.
Yin Feng didn't give up. He changed to a simpler and more direct way of asking: "Do you plan to marry Xie Chiyuan in the future? Do you want to be on the same household registration as him?"
Yu An: "!"
Yu An shook his head repeatedly, replying in horror, "I don't want to."
His household registration book already has enough for ten children; there's simply no room for any more!
Moreover, Yu An didn't think Xie Chiyuan wanted to be on the same household registration as him at all.
When pressed on about his love life, Yin Feng stopped talking.
Hearing the resolute "I don't want to," Xie Chiyuan felt a sudden, inexplicable unease in his heart. He pursed his thin lips, his face tense, and turned to leave.
Chongchong and Duoduo didn't quite understand the adults' feelings, so they obediently ate their nutritional paste without interrupting.
"elder brother."
After finishing a tube of nutritional paste, Chongchong looked up at Yu An and asked, "When can Duoduo and I go back to kindergarten?"
The kindergarten that Xie Chiyuan casually mentioned is still being talked about by the two little ones.
Yu An hesitated and said, "Wait until I ask Xie Chiyuan later."
The rest time was short, and soon Yu An went back to training with Yin Feng.
The training content kept increasing in difficulty, but this level of training wasn't too difficult for Yu An. He felt that he was quite talented.
If I had started training earlier, I wonder if I could have surpassed Xie Chiyuan.
It was evening.
Yu An saw Xie Chiyuan, who was listlessly picking at his food. The cafeteria food was quite good, but he didn't like it.
To avoid waste, he only ordered a small amount of food.
"Have you almost finished eating, or are you just starting?" Xie Chiyuan sat down with his plate, staring at his plate with a probing gaze.
Yu An lied without blinking, "I'm almost finished eating."
As luck would have it, his teammate Hou Ying was sitting at the table next to him. Hou Ying called him out on the spot: "Instructor Xie, Yu An just started eating."
Yu An: "..."
Yu An lowered his head.
Xie Chiyuan handed him the meat from his plate and said, "Eat."
Yu An looked at the meat but had no appetite.
He couldn't eat much food at all; the kind of food that provides energy for humans was useless to him.
However, under Xie Chiyuan's watchful gaze, Yu An still forced himself to finish the meat.
After finishing the meal, Yu An almost threw up.
There was no extra training that evening. After leaving the cafeteria, Yu An and Xie Chiyuan walked back to their dormitory side by side.
"Xie Chiyuan, are you going to build a kindergarten for Chongchong and Duoduo?"
"It must be built."
Unexpectedly, Xie Chiyuan actually made a plan.
Yu An was somewhat surprised: "With only Chongchong and Duoduo, can this kindergarten really open? There aren't many cubs on our island."
"There will be more."
Xie Chiyuan counted a few: "There are also children from military families, so we can put them together. If—"
Xie Chiyuan paused when he said "if" before continuing, "If there are any other offspring mutants like Chongchong and Duoduo, we can bring them back as well."
Although Chongchong and Duoduo are mutants, both of them have extremely simple personalities.
Xie Chiyuan had killed many mutants, but he couldn't draw his bone blade against these two little ones.
As Yu An listened to his words, his heart pounded so hard it felt like it would pierce his eardrums. He tried his best to appear calm and asked, "How old do kindergartens accept mutant children? Do they accept seven or eight-year-olds?"
They're seven or eight years old, and they can already go to primary school.
Xie Chiyuan was silent for a few seconds before replying, "If you don't have any prior schooling experience, then start from kindergarten with Chongchong and Duoduo."
Yu An fell into deep thought.
Would the kids agree to be sent to kindergarten?
"What? You want to send your kid over?" Xie Chiyuan suddenly asked.
Yu An had told him before that she had a baby at home; it wasn't a secret.
"We'll see."
Yu An skipped over the topic: "My babies haven't all been found yet."
This global infection destroyed the Secret Shield Laboratory, ruined his life, and forcibly separated him from his children.
Yu An thought of the missing cubs; the oldest ones were alright. Judging by the timeline, they should have reached maturity by now.
The mature cubs will be stronger, and their mimicry will also break away from the cub form.
Only the smaller cubs...
Yu An controlled himself, forcing himself to stop thinking about it. If he continued, he would lose his composure and rationality.
"Yu An, do you need me to help you look for it?"
Xie Chiyuan had never delved into the topic of the baby in the past, but he could sense that Yu An didn't want to talk too much about the baby to others.
But this time, Xie Chiyuan inexplicably wanted to pursue the matter further.
Yu An avoided Xie Chiyuan's gaze and asked in a soft voice, "Are you really going to help me find it?"
"Um."
After Xie Chiyuan finished answering, he patiently waited for Yu An to give him a response.
After what seemed like a long while, Yu An tentatively spoke up: "There was a snowy owl on the ship last time. I used to keep a snowy owl as a pet."
"Xie Chiyuan, will you find that snowy owl?"
Asking Xie Chiyuan to find the A10 variant is like asking a weasel to find a chicken. No one with a sound mind would say something like that.
Yu An, however, spoke.
He knew he was taking a risk and anticipated the questions Xie Chiyuan would ask him next.
What is your relationship with the snowy owl variant?
"Have you ever kept a snowy owl mutant?"
Did you know that the snowy owl variant is A10?
"Who are you?"
These questions echoed in Yu An's mind, but after several minutes, he couldn't pinpoint any of them.
Xie Chiyuan didn't ask him anything.
After waiting for the interrogation to end, Yu An mustered up her courage and looked up.
As he looked, his gaze met Xie Chiyuan's.
Xie Chiyuan had a pair of sharp eyes, with jet-black pupils, which often gave people a cold feeling when he looked at them. But most of the time, when he looked at Yu An, Yu An did not notice any coldness in him.
The way he looked at Yu An was different from how he looked at others.
"Finding that snowy owl was already part of my plan," Xie Chiyuan said calmly. "If you're interested in him, I'll keep you updated on the progress."
Yu An nodded.